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Although it was expected that the BCCI senior selection committee will name the squad for the tour of South Africa on Tuesday, no such development happened. And now it is being learned that injuries to several players has prompted the selection committee to delay the announcement of the squad.
A report carried by the Indian Express claims that at least four players - Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shubman Gill and Ishant Sharma, remain doubtful for the South Africa series as they need around a month to regain complete fitness. It would be interesting to see how the selectors work their way around this problem since both the Men in Blue's preferred left-arm spinning all-rounder in Ravindra Jadeja as well as his backup Axar Patel have sustained injuries.
In the same report, it is claimed that Jadeja has a ligament tear and Patel has a stress fracture. With these developments, the India skipper Virat Kohli will have no choice but to field Ravichandran Ashwin as their specialist spinner - a bowler par excellence and a proven match-winner but someone who was not given a single Test match during India's Test series against England earlier this year.
If Jadeja undergoes surgery, he will be fit only before IPL 2022
Citing a source in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the report confirms that Jadeja's injury can well take months to heal and if he undergoes surgery, he will only be able to get match fit before the Indian Premier League next year.
In both Jaddu and Patel's absence, the selectors could select between Shahbaz Nadeem and Saurabh Kumar - if at all they want a left-arm spinner in the squad. While Shahbaz has worn the India cap before, Saurabh is currently part of the India A team in South Africa.
Meanwhile, the selectors also have to decide who will be the captain of the ODIs and the vice-captain in the Test matches. While Virat had only resigned from the T20I leadership position, it is up to the selectors to decide if they want to go ahead with two white-ball captains moving forward. Moreover, the country's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has been terribly out of form and was even on the verge of being dropped in the final Test before an injury ruled him out, in any case.
In such a case, Rohit Sharma could be named the vice-captain in Test matches and get the top job in the ODIs but clarity on these decisions will come only after the selection meeting.
